The publication DE 35 10 467 A1 discloses a ball bearing cage for radial ball bearings consisting of an annular body made from flexible material that has pockets for holding balls in a snap-in seating and guide pegs for guiding the balls in the pockets, when the annular body is inserted from the side into the bearing. A locking ring can be set on the guide pegs, in order to maintain equal chord intervals between the guide pegs and to limit deformation of the annular body. In this way, the annular body cannot be pushed out due to the effect of contact forces occurring between the balls and the cage during operation of the bearing.
From DE 10 2010 007 789 A1, a plastic cage for a rolling contact bearing is disclosed with pockets for holding rolling bodies, wherein this cage is divided in the axial direction into two identical cage parts and can be assembled by means of several snap-in connections. The snap-in connection is formed by an engaging pawl and an engaging groove, wherein at least one engaging pawl and one engaging groove are provided on each cage part that can each be engaged in an annular groove or engaging pawl of the other cage part, respectively. The snap-in connection is active in the radial direction.
The publication GB 2 049 070 A further discloses two identical cages that are mounted opposite each other and have retaining claws for the rolling bodies. However, the cages are offset with respect to angle so that the respective claws of the cage are not in contact. Each cage thus holds only half of the rolling body of the bearing.
In addition, the publication DE 699 25 976 T2, which is the closest to the subject matter of the invention, discloses a cage for a ball bearing that has an annular body provided with receptacles in the form of hemispherical domes. The receptacles are open on one side of the annular body and hold the balls. The other side of the annular body has a wall that forms a deflector. The number of receptacles is equal to the number of bearing balls. The receptacles for the balls are extended by at least one retaining claw and have recesses that permit the use of the cage in connection with a second, identical cage that is mounted in an opposing arrangement. Each end of the hemispherical dome that forms the receptacle has at least one claw. The claws of an identical receptacle are offset radially from each other with respect to the axis of the cage, wherein the receptacles for each claw have a recess. The recesses are arranged at the same radial height as the claw on the other end of the receptacle.
A disadvantage in the already previously cited publications is that after the assembly of the two cage halves by the compactly constructed bearing ring, there is only limited or no space for lubricant in the bearing. This has a considerable negative effect on the lubricating properties and reduces the service life of the bearing.